Say it with flowers

Millais Gallery, Southampton

2007

Drawing and small scale sculpture made under the influence of the Oxford University Botanic Garden and Plant Sciences Oxford University 2004-07.

14th September - 20th October 2007
Millais Gallery
Southampton Solent University
East Park Terrace
Southampton
millais.solent.ac.uk

PREVIOUSLY:
Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford

26th May – 8th July 2007
Christ Church Picture Gallery
Oriel Square
Oxford
www.chch.ox.ac.uk

Press Release:

Nostalgia and precision, seriousness and wit, watercolour and metal – John Thomson's drawings and sculptures evoke contrasting emotions and observations which instantly engage the viewer.

The New Zealand born artist John Thomson was the artist in residence at the Botanic Garden, Oxford in 2005. During the time of his residency in Britain’s first botanic garden (founded in 1621) Thomson was able to explore and study the 4,756 species which are crammed into the 4.5 acres of garden in the middle of the city. How does an artist cope with this wealth of inspiration? In Thomson's case in a scientific way, by using the tools of the plant-scientist, mapping, classifying, ordering and documenting what he saw. Contrary to the scientist he has the freedom to let his associations flow and to re-create and re-structure what he sees.

The exhibition will show some of John Thomson's sketchbooks and drawings from that time. They are reminiscent of the beauty and delicacy of plant drawings by scientific illustrators such as Maria Sibylla Merian and the preserved nostalgic aesthetic of herbaria (pressed plant collections). In comparison with drawings by an artist who specialises in plants and who obsesses with the unbiased documentation, Thomson's drawings evoke relations and connect plants with popular culture and knowledge, not wishing to conceal their biased observation. These works, however, are only stages on the way to the 'end-product' of the sculptor Thomson, who then transforms his weightless and colourful drawings and sketches into monochrome metal sculpture. The witty sculptures are the culmination of his occupation with plant science and they almost seem to contrast his joyful and vivid drawings; some of which are architectural, others like comic strips; some are just in black pen others in glowing colours, but they all show Thomson’s brilliant mastery of the medium. The lightness and simplicity of his pen stroke and the bold toy-like colours give them the innocence and joyfulness of a bunch of flowers, but foremost allow an insight into the artist's creative process.

John Thomson was born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1948 and moved to England in 1962. He studied at Liverpool College of Art between 1969 and 1971, and was one of the founders of the studio and gallery complex Art Space Portsmouth and the Aspex Gallery in 1980. He has held major one person shows throughout the UK and Europe amongst them Eye to I at Les Brasseurs Gallery, Liege, Belgium in 1998, Natural Selection at Six Chapel Row Contemporary Art, Bath in 2002, and most recently Disney meets DNA at Oxford’s Museum of Natural History.